With chatter about the NBA potentially having two expansion teams in the coming years, that could mean that an expansion draft will occur soon and teams will have to decide which players they want to protect and which players they are open to potentially getting poached by another team.
The names the Warriors would protect are obvious. Stephen Curry isn’t going to play for the Las Vegas Gamblers or whatever they’ll be called, and there’s a good chance they will protect all of their younger players since the team is not likely to be super competitive and should instead be trying to build for the future.
That could leave some of the team’s veterans who they brought back on potential multi-year deals with player options who could be headed elsewhere if an expansion draft does take place.
Warriors players who might be snatched in exapnsion draft
Al Horford
Last season was up and down for veteran center Al Horford. He was injured and didn’t play well at all during the first half of the season, but he looked like his typical self in the second half and became a really valuable contributor especially with the team dealing with so many injuries.
Horford would make sense on an expansion team looking for a veteran presence. Obviously new teams need to build some sort of identity and Horford is one of the most respect players in the league who simply does things the right way so he could be an adult in the room to help establish the culture of a new team.
Kristaps Porzingis
The Warriors traded for Kristaps Porzingis last season and he was banged up but played reasonably well when he was actually on the floor for Golden State. He is obviously very injury-prone but for a new team they may be willing to take that risk so they at least have a productive big man who can score.
De’Anthony Melton
Melton is very much in a similar boat to Porzingis. His health is often a question mark but he can be really effective when he is healthy and on the court. He is also on the younger side at the age of 28 so he’s that perfect sort of mid-level player who an expansion team could lean upon until it finds a star player somehow.
NBA expansion will impact every team and the Warriors are no different. Losing any of these players would be a blow because they can all be very effective, but pretty much every team will be impacted by an expansion draft so at least Golden State isn't the only team that will lose good players.
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